Grizzlies hope to have reinforcements with Wizards in town

(Sports Network) - The Memphis Grizzlies still may not have their newest
acquisitions in uniform Friday night when they return home to host the
Washington Wizards.

The Grizzlies traded forward Rudy Gay Wednesday for forwards Tayshaun Prince
and Austin Daye from the Detroit Pistons and young big man Ed Davis from the
Toronto Raptors.

It seemed like nothing more than a cost-cutting measure from the Grizzlies,
parting with Gay, the franchise's all-time leader in games played, minutes
played and steals.

"On behalf of the Memphis Grizzlies, we especially would like to thank Rudy
Gay for his contributions to the Grizzlies and the City of Memphis both on and
off the court," Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball
Operations Chris Wallace said in a statement.

The new trio was not in uniform Thursday night when the Grizzlies fell in
Oklahoma City to the Thunder. Already a little undermanned after a trade last
week which sent most of their bench to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Memphis only
had nine in uniform and Jon Leuer, acquired from Cleveland, only played
garbage-time minutes.

Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Jerryd Bayless and Mike Conley all played 36-plus
minutes in the 106-89 setback to the reigning Western Conference champions.
Bayless led the way with 23 points and Randolph pulled down 19 rebounds.

The Wizards head to Memphis losers of two straight. On Wednesday, the Wizards
shot 40 percent and committed 19 turnovers en route to a 92-84 loss in Philly
to the 76ers.

"You have nights like this. We have to figure out as a team when you have a
bad night how you keep playing," said head coach Randy Wittman. "Don't put
your head down, don't sulk, don't feel sorry for yourself. You're going to
have nights. If a teammate screws up, didn't help you on a certain play, we
can't slump our shoulders and put our head down."

Rookie Bradley Beal missed the Sixers game with a sprained right wrist and he
is listed as questionable for Friday night's game with the Grizzlies.

Nene paced the Wizards with 16 points. Martell Webster and Emeka Okafor scored
15 apiece and Okafor pulled down 17 rebounds. Okafor posted his third straight
15-plus rebound night and his sixth double-digit rebound game in the last
seven.

John Wall only managed nine points against Philadelphia on 3-for-12 shooting.
He had six assists and five rebounds, but committed five turnovers.

The Grizzlies, who play five of their next six at home, have won six of their
last seven in this series. The Wizards haven't won in Memphis since Nov. 3,
2004, losing seven straight and nine of 10 visits there.